[darfur] sudan preparing to attack

Click on pic to zoom to the child's picture.

From Amnesty, admittedly via VOA but still:

United Kingdom based human rights group Amnesty International warned Tuesday that the eastern part of Darfur would soon come under deadly attacks if care is not taken to prevent the imminent danger.

This comes after the group said it received reports suggesting that Sudanese armed forces are gathering in large numbers in some towns close to the northern part of Darfur.

Meanwhile, locals are reportedly scared further attacks by opposition or government forces could derail peace talks, scheduled to be hosted by Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi in the capital Tripoli before the end of the month.

The word "attack" translated

Children bound together and burned, rape, mutilation, eyes gouged out, villages razed, crops burned and evil across the land. Devastation, the delight of a certain type of mind in high places.

Steps

1. Pray, if you are capable, that such will not happen or that something or someone will step in first.

2. Think of pro-active ways we can bring pressure to bear.

[alcohol] live better, live longer

Abigail Zuger, of the New York Times gave some advice in 2003 [pre-blogging days and unattributable] which I plan to wholeheartedly accept, irrespective:

A study published in May in the Journal of the American Medical Association confirmed that alcohol raises the blood levels of HDL, the "good" cholesterol. Moderate drinking can raise the levels more than 10 per cent. Heavy drinking raises them even higher.

By comparison, running a few kilometres a week increases HDL a fraction of that, while the B vitamin niacin, probably the most effective medication for raising HDL levels, has to be taken at high doses with many side effects for similar results. The statin low-cholesterol drugs, which work by reducing LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, seldom raise HDL levels substantially.

Half the heart benefits of moderate drinking stem directly from the HDL gain. Alcohol also makes the blood flow a little more freely, by decreasing blood proteins that promote clotting, and increasing those that prevent clotting. Like low-dose aspirin, which also helps prevent heart attacks, alcohol keeps the tiny blood cells called platelets from adhering to one another and forming damaging clots.

Alcohol may also help the heart by preventing diabetes, a risk factor for heart disease. Moderate drinkers are, on average, a little thinner than non-drinkers, and less likely to develop the diabetes associated with obesity and insulin resistance.

Besides alcohol, red wine contains more than 200 natural chemicals, mostly derived from grape skins and seeds. Many are antioxidants. The antioxidant activity in a glass of red wine equals that in seven glasses of orange juice or 20 of apple juice, one researcher estimates.

Antioxidants are widely thought to have many good effects, such as increasing tissue blood flow and protecting cells from oxidative injury much as rust-proofing protects a car.

Last December, researchers in London announced in the journal Nature that alcohol-free extracts of red wines kept blood vessel cells from producing endothelin-1, a chemical that constricts blood vessels. That may mean that red wine enhances the blood flow to organs such as the heart and brain, above what might be expected from its alcohol content.

Sounds great to me. Here's ta lookin' at ya, kid!

Crossposted at Sicily Scene

[new blog] ladies who lunch

Blog dedicated to a lunch. Love to have been a fly on the wall [or even a guest]. Check it out. :)

[dip ....] the new state department blog

The new State Department blog which opened on September 25th is rivetting stuff:

"I've never witnessed so many impeccably dressed people in one place," writes 25-year-old Masharika Prejean, who works in State's public affairs office, about her visit to the United Nations General Assembly in New York in late September.

The Europeans walk through the lobby of our home for the week, the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, in their grays and blacks. The Americans in their shiny lapel pins, power suits, and blackberries. The Africans in their colorful garbs and stylish headdresses."

"First thing this morning, President Bush met with President Karzai to discuss progress in Afghanistan," writes Kristen Silverberg, assistant secretary of Bureau International Organization Affairs, in a Sept. 27 post. "... The Security Council this afternoon issued a statement of concern about the events in Burma, which were also discussed at today's G8 Foreign Ministers lunch."

Will the State Department be reading what the public says? "Oh yeah," said Heath Kern, director of digital media at State and editor-in-chief of the blog. "This is a pretty big deal in the State Department right now, and people are interested in what the public has to say."

The No. 1 improvement readers have suggested is to drop the blog's name: "The name DipNote has to go ... the blogosphere can be quite cruel sometimes ... you'll be referred to as Dip and another 4 letter word," writes SD in Washington.

Yep, I can imagine it now:

Had the dipbreakfast with the Zambesi Ambassador. Signed some documents later in the morning. Saw some great flower arrangements in the foyer. Everyone well dressed. Foyer clean. Met Greenland Ambassador for lunch and had productive discussions. Pate fois gras did not agree with me. Threw up in State Dept. Senior Officials' bathroom. Signed some more documents back at the office…

The State Department blog is here if you're brave.

[west ham] who do we know likes them

WE57 HAM

Will Iain bid? And whilst we're at it, don't forget his blog is now mobile phone compatible.

Now you have no excuse.

[twister] this is what life is all about